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position your self over about 20-25 foot of water and jig minnows of the bottom of the lake
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Ok I can understand that but do I jig the same areas I was dragging a worm harness thru? Or do i just find on my sonar 20-25 feet of water pop a hole and start jigging?
I think with the water so low where I troll is now shore line
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Unfortunately ice fishing for walleye in utah has to be done different than most the rest of the states,we can't use live minnows.your kind of walking on newer water for us trout fishing Utahns. I would try your normal hot spots drill your hole and jig for them,keep yourself mobile if 30 min. in 1 hole is not effective move on. dead minnows are allowed.3"white curly tails,jigging rapalas can be good for walleye.
Have fun Walking on Water!!!
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finding a hot spot is a good place to start. chances there is a shelf near where the hot spot is. move in or out. on the shelf.
I use dead minows here in michigan, though when I buy them they are alive. I have a minnow shape jig with treble hooks on it. I hook them through the middle of the body just behind the head.
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[cool]One of the keys to success with Utah walleyes is to first find their groceries. In Yuba, Deer Creek and increasingly Starvation, if you find some perch, the walleyes will often be nearby. But, walleyes do not feed 24/7. As most walleye nuts know, early and late are best...or cloudy days...or times when there is so much snow on the ice that it cuts down the light level.
This year's regs prohibit taking perch from Yuba. GOOD. That doesn't mean that you can't fish for walleyes, but you are likely to put in a lot of time between fish. They are much tougher through the ice, without being able to use something like live minnows.
You can catch them, but there are more caught by accident than by design. They are light sensitive, noise sensitive and just plain finicky...even when they are active. If one cruises by a jigging spoon with some perch meat on it, meant for jumbo perch, it may or may not take a swipe at it. Those with underwater cameras often leave the ice frustrated, knowing the fish are down there, but not successful at getting them to bite. Unlike perch, finding walleyes is no assurance of getting any on the ice. Heck, even perch go on vacation sometimes too.
There is no hard and fast rule about depth. They will be where you find them. I have caught them in less than 10 feet of water beneath Yuba ice, and I have caught them in the deepest spot in front of the dam...forty five or fifty feet. Your first trip or two will probably be more hunting than fishing. But, don't count on the fish being in the same place every time you go.
With the water levels being out of whack, it is highly unlikely that there will be any fish where you last caught them in open water. But, it's always worth a try...especially if it is along a sloping inderwater point, or a deepwater hump. If you have GPS readings on previously successful spots, might as well start there.
Discouraged yet? Welcome to walleye fishing.
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